Day 6 - Estella to Los Arcos

We leave our hostel in Estella in the rain and approx 6 degrees. The sky is heavy with storm clouds coming our way.

The town was busy last night but found a great bar/resurant and had the normal high quality food we have come to expect.

It must be bull fighting season cos it's on in every bar every night. It's quite barbaric!


We push our way up the first steep incline and find the free wine fountain that the guide book said was in Los Arcos, but alas the Germans got there first and it was dry. Probably a good thing anyway.

We get to our first summit of Monjardin and the storm clouds are still chasing us, passing through native Holm Oak and Pine trees.

There are fantastic views back over Luquin and Estella.

Before our decent we come across a refurbished Roman bath house in the middle of nowhere fed by a spring. I assume erected for the pilgrims in Roman times. It was about 5m square and 3m deep and must be a welcome refreshing quencher when it's mid summer.

We then decend in to Villamayor de Monjardin.

Then walk for 3 hours through the vineyards and olive groves; the scenery is stunning but the storm clouds are still chasing.

We stop for our picnic and settle on some hay bails.

Tony looks at me and I at him, both wondering what the smell is…we are more or less on top of a manure pile just out of shot to the right.

Went down nicely with a cheese sandwich and a banana while watching the lightening flash and listening to the thunder.

Then again it started to rain.

P.S. sorry about the photo, the nice Irish lady was doing us a favour.

We arrive in Los Arcos having just escaped the storm at our hostel. It's clean and tidy but we have stayed in better. Just a bit worried about the church bell that rings out every ¼ hour in the church tower 75m from my bedroom window.

Might need an extra glass of red tonight!

Our destination tomorrow is Logrono, the beginning of the Rioja region (it might take longer than we think to pass through, if we can't walk straight).

It's another relatively moderate day, 29km and 1 steep ascent of about 150m.